1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to basins for collecting waste fluid. More particularly, the inventor relates to basins for collecting fluids resulting from irrigating or draining wounds, or from flushing or washing body surfaces. The irrigation basin of the invention includes a trough surrounding a support surface on which a patient can rest an appendage or body part such as a head, foot, or hand.
2. The Background Art
Many medical treatments require flushing a wound or region of the body with water or a wash fluid to clean the wound or wash away a harmful or irritating substance. For example, if harmful chemicals enter a person""s eyes, the eyes are flushed with a fluid. Further, some wounds build up quantities of fluid that need to be drained away in order to allow the wound to heal. In some cases, a predetermined minimum quantity of fluid is used in the treatment to flush the body part, such as an eye. Other injuries must be washed to prevent or help treat infection. The resulting waste or irrigation fluid needs to be temporarily contained for later disposal because of possible biological contamination of the fluid. The fluid can be contaminated with a number of pathogens, including AIDS and Hepatitis C, which can be carried by bodily fluids and which can create a hazard for health care workers and others.
One current commonly-used apparatus for retaining this waste fluid is a stainless steel basin. These stainless steel basins are generally formed from a single piece of metal. The steel basins are often xe2x80x9ckidney-shaped,xe2x80x9d with rolled edges. A head, hand, foot or other appendage or body surface may be held over or against the basin to collect waste fluid from a wound or effluent from irrigation of a wound. The curvature of a kidney-shaped basin allows a patient or health care worker to press the affected area against the rim of the basin.
These commonly-used stainless steel basins have the disadvantage that they are not self-supporting, thus requiring a health care worker to steady the patient against or over the basin. This task could be particularly problematic with a patient who is uncooperative, unconscious, impaired, with limited mobility, or in a great deal of pain. Indeed, if the patient cannot help keep the body surface against or above the basin, this task may require more than one health care worker to steady the body surface against or above the basin. Even if only one health care worker is required, the task still leaves the worker with only one free hand.
Another disadvantage of the commonly-used steel basins is that since they require the affected area of a body part to be placed against the rim of the basin or above the basin, splashing of waste fluids is common. Because the surface being washed is elevated above the walls of the basin, the waste fluid falls, easily splashing out of the basin, thereby possibly contaminating the healthcare worker and surrounding areas of the patient""s body and clothing.
One positive attribute of the prior art is that when a body surface is held against the rim of the steel basins of the prior art, the surface forms a nearly watertight seal with the curvature of the basin""s rolled down or recurved rim. This benefit is often overcome, however, since the rolled-down shape of the rim permits fluid to roll off both sides of the rim, and thus out of the basin as well as into the basin, creating another potential for contamination.
Finally, another disadvantage of the commonly-used steel basins is that these basins are not disposable. They are made of metal, thus also making them heavy and expensive to manufacture and store. If these basins are not properly cleaned and sterilized, they can contaminate others. Stainless steel basins are generally not conveniently stackable as well, and use up more space than a stackable basin would. In stacks, the steel basins are heavy and unmanueverable.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that it would be an advancement in the art to provide an irrigation basin which is self-supporting, prevents splashing, and which promotes the movement of fluid into the basin. It could be a further advancement in the art to provide such a basin that is in addition, strong, lightweight, non-metallic, and disposable. It would further be an advancement to provide a basin capable of being sized to receive specific volumes of waste fluid. Such a basin is disclosed herein.
The irrigation basin of the present invention has a support surface surrounded, at least partially, by a trough, thus allowing it to be self-supporting and to support a body part for cleansing or irrigation. The trough may be sized to contain a specified amount of fluid. The support surface allows a patient to rest a body part such as a head, arm, or leg on the basin while that part is flushed, thus freeing the health care worker from the task of steadying the patient over or against the basin. This support surface also reduces the possibility of splashing by stabilizing the body part at and below the level of the basin walls. The basin also decreases spillage over the prior art because the body surface to be washed is placed on the support surface within the basin, not against the rim of the basin. As a result, waste will drain from the support surface into the trough, eliminating contamination from fluid dripping off the rim.
Additionally, the basin of the instant invention is lightweight and disposable, being preferably composed of a single piece of molded plastic. Due to its design, the basin may be constructed of relatively thin sheets of plastic, thus making its production and use more economical, and increasing its functionality by making it more easily disposable and storable.
The basin is designed to have sufficient rigidity and strength to support a body part of an unconscious, uncooperative, or restrained patient due to the plurality of ribs engineered into the outer wall of the basin. The number and size of these ribs is understood by those skilled in the art to be variable within the scope of the instant invention. The strength of the basin makes it ideal for use with patients who are unable to hold the basin themselves by allowing them to simply rest their affected body part on the basin for a given procedure to be performed. This also negates a need for the medical personnel working with the patient to support the basin, thus leaving the health care worker""s hands free for their work. This characteristic thus makes the basin useful in irrigating injuries, draining abscesses or other wounds, washing the hair of a patient, or providing an emesis basin for a patient.
Finally, the basin is stackable, being configured to receive another basin to a particular depth. In a preferred embodiment, shelf notches are located in the corners of the basin, such that when two basins are stacked, the shelf notches contact, holding the basins and leaving a gap between them for easy separation. It is clear to those of skill in the art that the placement and number of these notches may be varied without departing from the instant invention. The basin may also have an overhanging rim to help separate stacked basins and to facilitate carrying the basin.
In one embodiment, a U-shaped trough partially surrounds the support surface of the basin. In this basin, the support surface extends to one edge of the basin, allowing the basin to be placed under a patient""s head or other appendage without interference from the walls of the basin. The surface may then function easily as a headrest or rest for other body parts.